Clothes-line.



R. L. MGMINN.'

CLOTHES LINE.

9, 1912. 1,054,704.- Patented Mar. 4, 1913.

ROBERT LEE MclVIINN, OF ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA.

CLOTHES-LINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Mar. 4, 1913.

Application led October 19, 1912. Serial No. 726,832.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that I, ROBERT L. MCMINN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Asheville, in the county of Buncombe and State of NorthCarolina, have invented a new and useful Clothes-Line, of which thefollowing is a specication.

The present invention appertains to pinless clothes lines, and aims toproduce a metallic clothes line constructed of a plurality' of sections,each section being fashioned from a length of wire in a novel manner inorder to receive and clamp the clothes and other textiles upon the line.

The present invention also contemplates the production of a clothes linelink which shall be simple, durable, substantial and inexpensive inconstruction, and which shall be eificient, serviceable and convenientinits use, the various links of the line being adapted to fold compactlytogether, or within a small compass when the line is not in use.

Vith the above and other. objects in view, which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within thescope of whatis claimed without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

The preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated in theaccompanying drawing, wherein like reference characters have beenemployed to denote corresponding parts, and wherein Figure l is aperspective view of two links of the clothes line. Fig. 2 is afragmental side elevation. Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line3-3 of Fig. l.

Referring specifically to the drawing, each of the links of the clothesline is fashioned from a suitable length of wire of proper gage andquality and suitably plated, galvanized or otherwise finished forpurposes of protection and wear. This wire is bent to form a pair ofintertwisted clamping strands 4 having long yielding turns, extended atone end into long straight diverging portions 5. These diverging ends 5of the clamping strands are connected by a resilient coil 6 of one andone-half turns, this coil being of comparative large diamen ter andbeing tangenti to the said ends 5. The other end of one of the clampingstrands is bent back and wound upon itselfto form an eye 7 for engagingthe coil 6 of the adjacent link, and the other end of the other clamping strand is wound around the former strand, adjacent the eye, asdesignated by the numeral 8, to secure the latter ends of the clampingstrands together.

In use, any number of the links may be employed in o-rder to provide aclothes line of any desired length, as will be understood, and when theline is strung up between two supports, the clothes or textiles may bereadily attached to the line without the employment of the usual clothespins. The clothes are attached to the line, or rather to the vario-uslinks thereof, by manually pushing together the diverging ends 5 of theclamping strands which will cause the turns of the clamping strands toseparate, such separation of the clamping strands permitting theinsertion of the clothes. When the ends 5 are released, the clampingstrands will be brought together to tightly hold the clothes, it beingnoted that the clothes may be inserted in all of the links in the samedirection. The diverging ends 5 also assist in guiding the clothes intothe turns of the clamping strands, as well as serving to yieldablyseparate the clamping strands during such insertion of the clothes. Thediverging ends in being connected by the resilient coil 6 provideseifective means for normally swinging the clamping strands together, andthe said coils 6 may also be employed for holding small articles ofwearing apparel or other textiles, thus increasing the capacity of theclothes line. The coil 6 in being engaged by the eyes 7 of the adjacentlinks also permit the line to be folded compactly when not in use, thesaid coils being resilient will give a slight resiliency or flexibilityto the clothes line as a whole, which is desirable. The provision of thecoils 6 is therefore of importance, providing a a number of advantagesor functions, particularly in connection with the diverging ends of theclamping strands to which the coils are attached.

In view of the foregoing, taken in connec tion with the drawing, theadvantages and capabilities of the present clothes line will be manifestto those versed in the art, and it will be noted that the objects aimedat have been carried out satisfactorily, the present straight anddiverging portions, and n rellne providing n desirable one for thepursilient- Coil tangential to und attached to the poses for which it isdesigned. said portions. V

Having thus described the invention, In testimony that I claim theforegoing as 15 5 what is Claimed Vas new is my own, I have hereto axedmy signature A plofthes line llinl), ashioned fro? a` in the presence oftwo Witnesses. lengt o Wire an( ein o ying zi pair o in` tertvvistedclamping strands, having long ROBERT LEE MOMINN' yielding turns, one oftheir ends being se-J IVitnesses: 10 cured together and being providedwith an JOSEPH F. FORD,

eye and their other ends extending int-o long, M. C. KEELING.

'Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C.

